Plot Synopsis: While investigating a rogue comet, the cultural archive concealed inside begins taking over both the Enterprise and Data.
Plot A and B Analysis: The teaser has the Deanna working with a bunch of kids in art class–and Data, who creates a PADD and a treble clef. The Enterprise is following a comet, but it’s when they try to scan it that the trouble begins. A strange blue artifact is in Deanna’s quarters. Plot A is the main plot, there is no plot B. We quickly discover that the ‘comet’ has somehow downloaded symbols into the computer core and is replicating itself. After phasering away the space dust we learn there is a library of sorts inside, and it doesn’t take long before Data starts completely flipping out, turning into other people. Turns out they are personalities from the ‘cultural archive.’ A tractor beam from the archive connects to the ship and the entire ship starts transforming into a city. Picard and the crew learn they need to stop Masaka, some sort of evil sun queen, and build Masaka’s temple. It seems Corgano is the only one who can stop her–and then we end up with a scene where Data and Picard, both wearing masks, having a crazy dialogue which magically resolves everything.
Favorite Scenes: I love the scene where the Enterprise phaser is cutting away the dust and frozen gas from the ‘comet’, it looks great. There is a creepy scene in the 14th minute when Geordi is performing a diagnostic on Data in engineering. He tells Geordi something is wrong:
Data: Geordi? What does it feel like when a person is losing his mind?
Geordi: Data, come on, you’re scaring me now. What’s going on?
Data: I do not know. I am different.
Geordi: Well, you’re gonna be alright. You’re with me, okay?
Data: *with a subtle quaver in his voice” Okay.
Geordi: Listen, I’m gonna disconnect you. *Disconnects him and checks a terminal, only to find Data’s exposed positronic net has sealed itself* Data…
*Data turns around and looks at him with a satanic grin, and eyes that are not his own*: Masaka is waking.
Use of Cast/Characters: Picard is the archaeology expert so we see that facet of him here, running around and solving most of the mysteries himself. He does most of the action, and resolves the plot. Riker has little to do except a handful of lines. Troi is active in a role in a shipboard school (what exactly is that role?), and is present for many scenes but gets little development. Data is a major part of this episode, as Spiner plays multiple characters and IMO does a mixed job of it. Ihat is probably the best. Worf has very little to do, Geordi is involved in my favorite scene and is pivotal to accessing the technology on the archive. Beverly gets the shaft–other than the teaser she has two lines in the episode.
Blu Ray Version: All the CGI with the archive was redone, but it looks almost identical to the original. There are three deleted scenes. The first takes place right after the main title and involves Riker, Geordi and Worf in Ten Forward. It’s actually not a bad scene, where the food and drinks they order taste funny–Dorn almost does a spit-take, I think it’s worth keeping in just for that. The second scene takes place in the observation lounge before Geordi shows us the map of Data’s brain, with Beverly recapping what happened in engineering–still, it addresses the option of just turning Data off, which is what prompts Geordi’s explanation. The third scene takes place on the Bridge where the crew are discussing the possible purpose of the archive transforming the ship. It’s fine but probably wisely pruned.
Nitpicks: In the 10th minute, when Geordi tells Picard the structure is using the ship’s sensors to piggy back its own information to the ship’s computer core, why doesn’t he stop the sensor sweep? Instead he lets it continue.
Overall Impression: This is one of those episodes that starts out with a really cool concept, and the audience is shaken by what is happening to Data, but by the end of it you just throw up your hands and say, ‘what a ridiculous ending.’ For some reason this is a fan favorite, but I don’t really get it. Masks is a little bit like Night Terrors, where I really want to like it, but it just gets out of hand. I’ve overheard folks saying what an incredible job of acting Brent does in it—no he doesn’t, even by his own admission. There are some wonderful shots, and Brent does the best he can with virtually no prep time, but overall I don’t know how to rate this episode. I’ll just wimp out and split the difference. I think 2.5 out of 5 stars is the best I can do.
Behind the Scenes/Trivia: This is an episode where there are no guest stars at all. Marina tells a story that happened during the filming of this episode:
During that episode [Thine Own Self] I sent Geordi to his death, to pass my test. The following episode we’re sitting in the observation set, I looked across at LeVar and I said ‘Oh, you’re only a lieutenant commander, I’m a commander, you have to call me sir.’ He goes ‘when did that happen?’ I said ‘last week, when I sent you to your death!’ He goes ‘oh, that’s what that was about.’
At a Star Trek convention LeVar said when he got a script he would just flip through it and thought ‘BS, BS, BS, oh, there’s my line…BS, BS, BS.’ Brannon Braga–one of the writers–lets us know what he thinks about the episode, written by Joe Menosky: “Joe is one of those writers who has a unique vision that no one else understands.” Evidently Joe wasn’t even there to help with the script, he was in the Alps or something. The director said, “… it ended up kind of an exotic adventure story, but it didn’t have any heart.” At a convention in 1994, Michael Dorn said this was his least favorite TNG episode.
What did Brent Spiner think? Here is a quote from him at a 2012 panel discussion. He calls this episode “the very worst acting” he’s ever done, and the most difficult acting because of the schedule. Evidently he was shooting Thine Own Self, and the night they wrapped shooting is when he received the script for Masks, where he plays five different characters. He barely had time to read the script he says, and the next morning he had to start shooting. He called his performances “the most preposterous acting ever put on the screen” and talks about how Marina being just off camera “laughing in my face” while he was trying to act. He talks about the shoot getting more and more ridiculous, until finally the last shot was with him and Patrick, wearing masks at 4am on a Saturday, everyone exhausted, and now he’s supposed to play ‘the goddess of the sun.’ Every line he said Patrick would burst out laughing, then it was Patrick’s turn and Brent would spontaneously laugh at everything Patrick would say. It’s one of those shoots that I wish I was there to see for myself. Here is the direct link to the story, hearing Brent tell it is just great. For those interested, the Masaka’s Temple set was reused in the DS9 episode Blood Oath.
Missable/Unmissable? Oh boy, I don’t know. On the one hand I recommend it because it does start out pretty great, there is a good scene, and watching Brent trying to act all those parts is fun. On the other hand it’s not really a great episode. you know what, watch Masks and then watch the Brent Spiner clip. The next episode is worse.
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